Awake and Angry

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. Do not give the devil an opportunity
Ephesians 4:26–27 (NET)

I find it interesting that the emotion of anger is specifically addressed by the Apostle Paul. Why? Anger has many facets, and one of those facets is that anger, if not controlled, spreads like a heat rash in the south! Paul didn't say anger is wrong, what he did say is that we should address it IMMEDIATELY! Have you ever noticed that when you are angry with someone and you don't address it right away, you stay up all night, thinking of how that person wronged you...and as the night progresses, you are still awake and you start developing scenarios in which this person starts taking on characteristics that are totally unrealistic of that person, that they are out to get you and make you feel even worse! Next thing you know its time to wake up and go to work and you haven't had any sleep. Then while you are awake you start daydreaming the whole thing all over again! Anger will spread and start infecting areas of your life that seem totally unrelated. Anger will also affect you physically with upset stomach, irritability, unable to concentrate, insomnia, etc. However, if you address the anger right away and talk to that person that made you angry, you wont have to go through all of that, in fact, in most cases, whatever that person did to make you angry, they really didn't mean it at all. But, as Paul said, the devil will take any opportunity he can, and if there is anger to capitalize on, he will!

Take Away...if someone makes you angry, talk to them right away (in a calm way of course, not full of emotions), don't give the devil an opportunity!

Special Brownies

Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough—you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
1 Corinthians 5:7 (NET)

There is a story that went around several years ago about a mother, in an attempt to make a point, made "special" brownies for her daughters. She added a "special" ingredient but didn't tell her daughters until she was about to serve them. When they all sat down to eat, the girls were excited and couldn't wait to eat the special brownies. The mother said "I just need to tell you about the special ingredient. It isn't very much, in fact very little of this 'special' ingredient went into the batter. The 'special' ingredient is dog poop. I just put very little, you won't even be able to taste it." As you can image the daughters were disgusted and wouldn't eat it. The mother said "it is only a little, not much." The girls still wouldn't eat it. Why is it that we can't eat a brownie with a little dog poop in it, but we sure can justify doing something we know is wrong, even if we do it "just a little bit." Y'all know what I'm saying! We seem to justify anything, but the truth is we know what we should and shouldn't be doing. We need to just stop doing what we know we shouldn't do because if we keep doing what we shouldn't be doing, it is going to spread to other areas in our lives. We need to take a regular inventory of our lives and do what Paul says, clean out the "old yeast"...the things in our lives we shouldn't be doing. 

Take Away...stop eating the "dog poop," and take an inventory of your life on a regular basis and get rid of the "old yeast," the things in your life that you know you shouldn't be doing. Ask God to strengthen you and give you help.

Talk and Walk

So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.
James 2:17 (NET)

Have you ever met someone who talked a lot of talk but had very little, if any, action that supported their talk? After being on stage when I was on the worship team and now being a pastor, I've come across many people who would talk the "Christian-ese" talk, you know, they know the right words to say, they would talk about all these wonderful things they were doing and they would throw in a "praise Jesus" every few words or so. The problem is their "walk" wasn't there. They would talk the talk, but their actions would be quite different. James said it perfectly, your walk, your actions, the way you behave will show if you have faith. If you really and genuinely have faith in God, faith in Jesus and call Him Lord of your life, your actions will follow what you say.  I challenge each of us, myself included, that we take a look at ourselves on a regular basis and see if what we are saying is being followed up by the same actions. If not, then a change is needed in your life.

Take Away...don't just talk the talk, follow your talk with actions that support your talk.

No, You Don't Know Everything

Both the apostles and the elders met together to deliberate about this matter.
Acts 15:6 (NET)

Just prior to this verse, some of the believers who were formerly pharisees said that the new gentile believers must be circumcised according to Jewish law. This was a new area for the apostles. They've never dealt with gentiles before, what were they to do? Like many of us, we encounter new areas that we have never experienced before, and sometimes when we venture out, we will make mistakes. In fact it is not a "will we make a mistake," it is more "when we make a mistake" because mistakes will happen. And yes, they will more than likely affect other people. As leaders when we encounter a "new" area, or an issue that rises up in the people that we lead, we need to take a note from the apostles and meet with key people to help decide what to do. As individuals we have got to face the fact that we do not know everything. I know this is going to hurt the pride of some people, but the reality is just because you are a leader doesn't mean that you know everything...because you don't. And if you think you know it all, you are deceiving yourself and you are deceiving God. When you humble yourself to hear the opinions of others in your leadership team, you will be able to hear from all sides and make a just decision. And even if you are not a leader, you still don't know everything. So when an issue comes up, find 1 or 2 people that you trust and seek their counsel.

Take Away...

When issues rise up either in your team or in your life, seek counsel. Don't think you know everything, because you don't...that's a fact!

Intentional Prayer

Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 5:18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.
James 5:17-18 (NET)

I was sitting in my room where I usually go to spend my time with God and I started praying for people. The Holy Spirit stopped me dead in my tracks. He said listen to what you are praying. So I did and realized I was praying an un-intentional prayer. What I mean by that is that I was praying one of those standard prayers, "Lord be with them" and "Lord continue to work in their lives." The Holy Spirit said "Really? You don't think I won't work in their lives if you don't pray that? I am already working with them, what do you want to see happen? That is what you need to pray." So I thought about it and realized that with every prayer I do want to see a specific outcome for whatever it is I'm praying for. For example, I was praying for a couple and I was saying "Lord be with them and work with them" when I should be intentional about what I was praying for and pray "Lord, I want to see them walk in peace, I want to see them not argue with each other but start learning how to accept each other and their faults. I ask You that they learn how to deflect the arrows that the enemy is shooting at them." Intentional prayer, just like Elijah! He was very specific in his prayer in James 5:17-18, and God honored that! But what if you don't know what to pray? If you dig deep down, there is a reason you are praying for a situation, pray for that reason, it is there! I'm not saying you are going to get or see whatever it is you are praying for, but at least you will be intentional about what you are praying about!

Take Away...

When you pray for someone or something, be intentional and pray for the outcome of whatever it is you are praying for.

Got Up and Went

Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went.
Acts 8:26–27 NET

The key phrase I want you to see is the last phrase, "So he got up and went." I can't tell you how many times I'd be going throughout my day and the Lord would tell me to do something, but I never "got up and went." Sad to say for most of my Christian walk, I didn't "got up and went." In fact instead of "got up and went," I would "rationalize and not do." It seems we can reason and rationalize our way out of anything and everything, but the truth of the matter is that when we do that we are saying one of two things, "God, you don't know what you are talking about" or "God, I just don't want to do it."  For example, I'd be walking through a store, and I'd see someone drop a piece of paper on the ground and I'd hear this little tiny whisper in my head, "go pick that up for that person." For the next hour I'd be telling God how that piece of paper was really nothing, and after that didn't work, then I'd go spiritual and say "God if it was really important, then You'd find a way to get that paper to them." He would eventually respond with "I am finding a way, and its YOU!" In all that time of arguing and rationalizing, in the matter of just a few seconds I could have been obedient to Him and picked that piece of paper up and given it to that person and walk away in peace. We need to be like Philip and start making our minds up that when God tell us to do something, we get up and go! 

Take Away...

Instead of arguing with God when He tells you to do something, make your mind up to do whatever He is telling you to do, and "get up and go!"

The Way Out

And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

I've written about temptation before, however I really felt the Holy Spirit wanted me to speak on this again. We are all tempted in some way just about every day of our lives. Not everyone is tempted by the same thing, but we are all tempted to do something, either good or bad. And its really not the good things we are tempted by that are the problem, it is the bad things that give us problems. I can't tell you how many times I've been tempted by the same thing over and over and over, and I fall into the temptation over and over and over, and it seems I keep going around that same proverbial mountain constantly. I cry out to God, "when is this thing going to be over." Then I read in Corinthians that God provides a way out and I say to God "where is this way out, because I sure don't see it." He said it is there, it is always there, you just are looking for it. So I took a step back and realize that I was looking for the way out after I did the actual action of what I was being tempted to do. You won't see the way out while you are doing the action of whatever it is you are being tempted to do. You see the way out WHILE you are being tempted and before it turns into an action. Every temptation starts as a feeling, which will then turn into a thought...and if you entertain that thought long enough it WILL turn into an action. The "way out" the Apostle Paul was talking about is seen during the feeling and thought part of temptation. "Well Kent, I can't help what I think about." That's true, you cannot control what thoughts pop into your mind...HOWEVER you can control what you do with them. When you are in the "thought" part of temptation, that is where you start saying "NO!" But that isn't enough. You MUST apply God's word to that temptation...the way out! Look at what happened with Jesus in the wilderness. Every time He was tempted He spoke the word of God to that temptation. That is what we need to do. You know the areas in your life where you are tempted, I encourage you to find the scriptures that speak to that temptation, and then speak those words when you are tempted.

Take Away...

Don't let your thoughts run you when you are tempted, God gave you the way out...His Word! Speak His word to your thoughts when you are being tempted to do something you know you shouldn't be doing.

Waiting on Tables

So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.
Acts 6:2 (NET)

The whole context of this scripture was that the disciples were tending to EVERYTHING! They were tending to prayer, teaching, waiting on people, etc. They fell into the trap that Moses fell into. It took Moses' father-in-law to speak up and say "Dude, you can't do it all!" The disciples realized this too and said "Bros, we can't do everything because it is taking away from the task we are called to do." This doesn't mean that "waiting on tables" was less important than teaching and prayer, it meant that they could no longer do what God was telling them to do. In fact in verse 4 they said the "waiting on tables" was a necessary task. As humans, we are limited in what we can do. We are also limited to 24 hours in a day. Us perfectionist (and those with pride...yep, I said that) think we can do everything AND we can do it better. But we perfectionist (and prideful people and you know who you are) have to lay down that thinking and come to the reality that we can't do everything and that we need to do only what we are called to do. Another way of looking at it is this...if you are trying to do everything when other people are called to do what you think you need to be doing when you are suppose to be doing something else, you are robbing the other people of what God has called them to do. In other words, I am called to teach and that is what I am doing. But if I think "well bless God I should be running the children's ministry and playing on the worship team and greeting" then I am robbing those that ARE called to do those things. 

Take Away...

Don't think you can do everything, because you can't. Do what you are called to do, and let others do what they are called to do.

Nothing is Impossible

I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing.
John 15:5 (NET)

There are many things in life that God has given us wisdom to do that we really don't need to ask for help. Its not that we don't need Him, its just that He already has given us what we need for many things. And then there are things that seem so daunting that we think there is no way we can do them. For example, many years ago I had a conflict with someone that I thought there was going to be no way for me to forgive this person. I would go through that roller coaster of "yes, Lord I forgive them" and then a couple days later I'd be back to being angry with them because I remembered what they did. I knew the right thing was to forgive them, but it was so hard and seemed impossible. Jesus is right, apart from Him, I can't do it. Apart from Jesus, there was no way my mind was going to let me forgive that person. So I said "Lord, you have to help me, otherwise I'm going to keep on this rollercoaster and go crazy." It took some time, but He helped me. He showed me things inside of me that were keeping me from forgiving.  We addressed them and I was eventually able to truly forgive that person. Without His help, I would never have known what to do. If we think we can do anything on our own, we are fooling ourselves. Jesus is not a liar, it is true that apart from Him we can accomplish nothing, we need His help, everyday. It is really a good place to be when you realize you can't do it on your own, it humbles us and allows Jesus to do His job.

Take Away...

When something seems too daunting, that there's no way you can do it...ask Jesus to help you and believe that with Jesus, nothing is impossible!

The Learning Phase of Contentment

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in any circumstance.
Philippians 4:11 (NET)

A lot of people think that the Apostle Paul was this super human, that he was able to do things no other human could because he was different. I can't argue that he was different, but not in the way most people think. The Apostle Paul was different in the respect that he learned to trust God so much that it didn't matter what his circumstances were, he was content. The key word here is "learned." He didn't get contentment overnight. It probably took several years before he was able to have so much trust in God to be content no matter what was going on. I mean, look at what he endured in his years of ministry, imprisoned several times, ridiculed, slandered, who knows what else, but in all of that he learned to be content. He was going to have to go through those things anyway, so instead of being upset and angry and grumbling the entire time, he chose to trust God that He would take care of him and therefore he was content. This is something I am still learning. Yes, I'm in that learning phase, I haven't found contentment in every situation...but I getting closer. I can't tell you how many times I caught myself getting frustrated with traffic that I was grumbling, getting anxious, and angry..."what don't the lights turn faster, why can't the car ahead of me speed up, blah blah blah!" I am learning that when those things happen, I need to say "hey, I'm in traffic, I'm going to be in traffic, so it doesn't matter if I get upset or not I'm still going to be in traffic. Me being upset isn't going to get me through traffic any faster. So Kent, get over yourself and choose to be content, and I ask you Jesus to settle me down!" Yep, contentment doesn't flood me right away, but each time I say it, I feel a little less anxiety and frustration...and a little more at peace. You're going to have to go through your day in whatever circumstance you are in anyway, so why not choose to go through it content? It makes going through your day much easier!

Take Away...

When you find yourself getting worked up because of your circumstances, ask God to settle you down and do a little self-talking and choose contentment.

New Years Resolutions

I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant man.
1 Timothy 1:12-13 (NET)

Yes, I know its January 2, but can we go back one day to January 1? You know, the day we all make New Years Resolutions (NYR), the day we say we are going to turn a new leaf and exercise more, or eat less, or be more patient, or whatever. But somehow those NYRs never seem to last, do they? I definitely notice this at the gym. The first two weeks of the new year and that gym is packed, by the beginning of February, the population at the gym has dropped by at least 25%, and by March it is back to what is was on December 31. We do this all the time to ourselves, and then when we don't fulfill our NYR, we start beating ourselves up..."see, you couldn't even do this!" or "if you can't do this, what makes you think you can do that?" or "see, you're just a loser, they all said you'd never last." Those words bite to the very core of our being...and the funny thing is, we allow it! We allow those words to eat at us, infect us, deprive us of sleep, make us agitated, etc. The Apostle Paul had every reason to think those same things and more, I mean the man killed Christians before he became one. From our point of view he had every right to be down on himself. But that isn't what he did. He chose to believe that Jesus cleaned the slate in his life, he chose to believe that Jesus really did die for him and that he now has new life! Paul, instead of beating himself up over past mistakes, chose life and went on to write two thirds of the New Testament. We have a choice. We can either continue to put ourselves down, and basically choosing death, OR we can choose life...choose the life Jesus died for. Yes we all made mistakes, you and I, and yes we will continue to make mistakes, and yes some of them may be whoppers, but Jesus died for it all so you don't have to continue to beat yourself up.

Take Away...

When you fall short of that NYR you made, instead of beating yourself up over it, say "yes, I didn't make this one, but that's okay, I'm no less a person of that, in fact I'm a better person because Jesus loves me!"

Plans for 2016

For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NET)

I have a journal that I write in everyday during my time with God...my "Coffee in the Cave" time. I journal what I believe God is speaking to me, how He helped me, how He instructed me, disciplined me, etc. I was reading through my entries in January 2015, and one thing struck me. Not once in all of January was even a thought that God would have Tammy and I start a church. We didn't even have a clue back in January 2015 that one year later, we would be starting a church. I like to think I know whats going to happen over the next few months and years, and its good to have plans, it gives us something to work toward. But one thing we absolutely MUST do is check with God before pursuing those plans. Why? Because He has plans also! He has plans for me that take priority over my plans. Yes, He will let me do my own thing for a while, until the plans fail, and yes they will fail, and it is usually at that point that He gets me back on to His plan. Some would think, "well, isn't that controlling?" Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but I look at what His plans do for me, they "prosper me, not harm me, they give me a future filled with hope." I don't call that controlling, I call that "plans I want to follow" plans! The whole point of this is to say, you never know what the future holds for you. You may think you do, but the reality is you don't. But we have God who knows the future! We have a God who has plans for each of us for the future...and they are not just any plans, they are plans that are going to prosper us and not harm us. They are plans that give us a future filled with hope and not dread! Make a choice that for 2016, you are going to be open to whatever God is leading you to do, you may be surprised at what you will be doing come December 2016!

Take Away...

Write down what you see yourself doing in 2016 and put it away for safe keeping. Then on January 1, 2017, look at it and see where God has taken you, you may be astonished at where He has lead you!

A New Perspective

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
1 John 5:13

Our daily lives are so full of issues, decisions, drama, joys, excitements, etc, that somehow, as Christians, we lost sight that we are going to live forever. The Apostle John said that if we believe in the name of the Son of God, we will have eternal life, meaning that we are going to live forever. So if that is the case, then why is it so important that I have to have my way all the time? Why is it so important that every one does what I think they should do? Why is it so important that everything should be done when I think it should be done? We are going to live forever!!! All these things that we think are so important really don't matter at all when it comes to eternal life. We need to start getting a Kingdom perspective on life, and get our eyes off of ourselves and what makes me happy and what makes me feel good, and start looking through the eyes of Jesus. When we start getting a Kingdom perspective, its amazing how God takes care of the things we think are so important to us. In fact, and I've seen this happen to me, that when something is not going the way I think it should and I get ahold of myself and settle down and ask God to give me a Kingdom perspective, I focus on Him and that "thing" that I thought was SO important, no longer is really that important. How do we do that? 1) Stop thinking about yourself all the time, get your eyes off of you, 2) Look at every situation through the eyes of Jesus (which may mean getting into the Bible more and finding out how Jesus sees things), and 3) ask God to help you get His perspective on things.

Take Away...

Start looking through the eyes of Jesus and make a choice to start looking at life through a Kingdom perspective.

Reverence, what?

God said, “Do not approach any closer!  Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

Exodus 3:5

Reverence for God, we read it, we listen to it, and we like to think that when we think about God or read His word, that we have complete and 100% reverence for Him...at least that is what I thought. Just last night while driving to work, the Holy Spirit raised that question to me, and at first I thought, "sure, I have reverence for Him," but then I remembered that when the Holy Spirit asks you a question, there is a reason. The real reason behind the question was really a statement, and that statement was "no Kent, you don't always have reverence for God." That was like a knife going straight into my heart. And then He showed me where I lacked. We go to Him in times of trouble, we go to Him when we need something, we go to church, and we think that is reverence. But how many of us ignore Him and His word? How many times have you read His word, and because it was tough, or it didn't fit your own theology, that you blew off His word? How many times do we think that if we go to church on Sunday or whenever, that is revering Him? Reverence for God isn't about how many times we go to church, or how many times we give to the poor, or how many times we open the door for someone at the store, or how many times we chose not to flip off someone in traffic. Reverence to God is putting Him at the top of your life. Reverence is saying I don't care how I think about things, God is first...and when He says jump, I don't ask why, or grumble, but do it...AND do it with a good attitude! A lot of us, including myself, have made God out to be someone that if we don't like what they are saying, we just ignore him. We have got to have reverence for God in EVERYTHING and with a good attitude. He is the Creator of you and me, He is the Savior for you and me, He is the One we trust at all times.  If you realize that you have not been revering God, confess that to Him. He has already forgiven you, all you have to do is start showing Him reverence.

Take Away...

We need to show God reverence in everything we do, we need to listen to His word and treat His word with reverence and not just brush it off when we don't agree with it. 

Pick and Choose The Seasons

You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 26:3

Yesterday started just like any other day, the hustle and bustle of Christmas, dealing with the crowds on the roads and at the shopping center, getting ready for the family gathering for the big Christmas dinner...you know, normal last few days before Christmas when we celebrate our Saviors birth. Then I get word that a friend of mine passed away. He was young, getting his life together, things seem to be looking up for him. I started thinking "Really? Right before Christmas? God, you're in control, couldn't you have picked a different day, a different time of the year? How can any of us celebrate Christmas now that someone we know is no longer with us just 3 days before Christmas!" God gave me two scriptures. The first was Ecclesiastes 3:1: there is a season for everything, and the second was Isaiah 26:3, todays verse I am using. We would like to think we get to choose when and how things happen, but we don't. That would make things very convenient for us, right?  But the reality is that we don't get to pick and choose when and how things happen...they just happen and we are left to deal with them.  The more important thing is HOW we deal with these events. Do we ignore God, get mad at God, refuse to acknowledge Him anymore, or do we do what Isaiah said, keep our minds and thoughts on Him? Isaiah said if we do, then He will keep us in peace. Yes, the death of my friend hurts, and at times I cried and probably will again. Yes this is Christmas but it won't seem like Christmas to his family...and that's okay because they need to mourn. Its okay to mourn our lost loved ones and we are suppose to, and at the same time we can still be comforted by God's peace as long as we keep our thoughts and minds on Him.

Take Away...

If you have lost anyone during this Christmas season, its okay to mourn, and at the same time, keep your mind on Him and He will comfort you with His peace.

To Throw a Fit or Not

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NET)

The last couple of days I've been talking about our behavior and how we, Christians, are to be the ones that make a difference in the world. I realized that when I was driving home last night from work, I found myself mouthing off at other drivers. Of course they couldn't hear me, but if they could, there would be no way they would associate me and my behavior with the way a Christian should behave as told by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23...with joy, peace, patience...and the big one...SELF CONTROL! Yeah right, the Apostle Paul never had to deal with Christmas traffic in Atlanta! But there I was, in traffic sitting there watching several sequences of the traffic light go from red to green to yellow and back to red...and not moving a bit! While Paul never had to deal with traffic the way we do, he still had things in his day that he had to deal with. And even if he didn't, God is still God and His word is still His word, it doesn't change. The fruit of the Spirit doesn't change. We are still called to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, and yes, it is a choice! You have the choice to show love, to walk in peace, to be patient and kind, and YES you can have self control...and I'll prove it to you. Every one of us has that moment at home when we are flying off the handle, wanting to throw something, yelling, basically having a fit, but if your boss or pastor knocks on the door you would straighten up in a second and greet them with a smile! Am I right???? The enemy would like for us to think we have no self control, but according to the word of God, we do...its a choice. 

Take Away...

Start making the choice to behave in a way that shows the fruits of the Spirit. And the next time you start throwing a fit, get a hold of yourself, stop what you are doing, settle down and just say "no, I'm not going to allow the enemy to win this one!"

Choosing a Behavior

DO NOT judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves.

Matthew 7:1 (AMP)

What we think and say to others is extremely important to God. God is all about love, and 1 Corinthians 13, what we call the love chapter, explains what love is. If you read that you will discover that love is not a gushy feeling, love is not an emotion, but it is a behavior. It is a behavior that we choose to do. That all sounds good and everything, but how about putting that into practice...well that is another story all together. Part of the "love" walk is thinking the best of each other, or in other words, how do we treat other people. How do you treat others when they do things you would not do? How do you treat others when you are in a hurry and the clerk behind the counter is taking her time? How do you treat your kids when you are already 10 minutes late for work and they just spilled their bowl of cereal on the new hardwood floor that was installed the day before? How do you treat the person who has the body you want but you are not willing to do what they are doing to get it? It is so easy to criticize others and condemn others for whatever reason, but we are not called to do that. We are called to love and walk in love with each other. We, as Christians, are to be the ones who make a difference in someone else's life. Instead of criticizing someone because their hair is not as perfect as yours, or they are not moving as fast as you would move, or whatever, we need to show people love, show them compassion...EVEN if they don't deserve it! 

Take Away...

Make a choice to stop criticizing others for whatever reason, but choose to walk in love, be compassionate...no matter how much it hurts to do it!

Joining Him

“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me – and I in him – bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing."

John 15:5 (NET)

God has given all of us abilities, talents, skills, etc, to accomplish His will through us. The key here is He will accomplish these things THROUGH us. We think that "well I have these skills, I went to college, I took piano lessons for 12 years, I don't need anyone, I can do this on my own" and then when we start running into that brick wall where nothing is happening we wonder "why God, why isn't this happening." If we think for one minute that we can do anything on our own, we are deceiving ourselves, we will continue to run into a brick wall and we will continue to get frustrated.  For example, God told my wife and I that we were to start a home church. For someone like me, I immediately start thinking about how we were going to do this, who was going to join us and help us in this, what days we were going to meet, where were we going to meet, blah blah blah...and all this time, Jesus was still way back there saying "uh, hey folks, did you forget something...like Me?" That's right, we left Jesus in the dust while we started running with what He told us to do, totally forgetting to include Him. What we needed to do, and what we eventually did, was ask Jesus, "okay, we hear You telling us You want us to start a home church, how can we join You in this?" When God tells us He wants us to do something, He is asking us to join Him, not the other way around where we think it is us asking Him to join us. We need to include Him in everything we do, we need to start asking Him "how can I we join you in this?"

Worship Song of the Week...

It is Well by Bethel

The Better Land

But as it is, they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:16 NET

One of the things that the "Men of Faith" did that kept them going forward was wanting what was better. They knew that if they returned Egypt, even though they would be fed and have a roof over their head, it would also put them back in slavery, or even worse. They knew God wanted something better for them, so instead of constantly thinking how much better things were in Egypt compared to their current situation (which was pretty bad at the time), they looked forward to what God wanted for them. Your current situation may not look so good, in fact it may seem down right aweful with no end in sight. That in its self could cause you to look back to how things where before they got bad. But God has a different plan than your past...He has a future for you! He has something better for you, he has a "better land" for you and if you will keep that hope alive in you, you will get closer and closer to the "better land." However, if you start thinking how bad things are now and how better they were before, your hope for the future will start to fade. You need to keep God's promise of a "better land" in the forefront of your mind. For example, if you are in a financial need, God's promise says He will provide all your needs (Phil 4:19). He knows exactly what you need and He will provide for that need. What you need to do during the time of waiting for Him to provide is to keep looking to Him and speaking out His promise. When those thoughts of gloom and despair rise up in you, push them back down with "God will provide all my needs!" 

Take Away: When things look better in the past than they currently are now, keep looking forward to the "better land" that God has prepared for you, no matter what your current circumstances are. 

Tempting Thoughts

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And whn sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
James 1:14-15 NLT

Do you know that I've never been tempted to rob a bank? Nope, that was never a temptation to me. But there are certain things that are a temptation to me, like seeing a piece of new mountain bike equipment in a magazine that just gets me! It is dangerous for me to read one of my mountain bike mags or go to a bike shop and see a new bike or see a new piece of technology, because when I do, that is about all I can think about. And...if I think about it enough, I am looking it up on the internet...AND if I look at it enough on the internet, I will think about how I can buy it...AND once I saw how to buy it, ie credit card, then I am either on my way to the bike shop to buy it or I am buying it on the internet. That's how temptation works. First it comes as a thought, then that thought turns into ideas and eventually actions. God does not tempt us, but there are certain things in each of us that can be tempted which we know are not good for us. When we notice we are having a tempting thought (and it comes on us subtly at times), we need to grab a hold of that thought as quick as we can and counter it with what God has promised. For example, I see new bike, but I don't have the money for, nor do I need a new bike (forgive me my fellow bikers), the minute the thought of "Kent, you need that bike" I need to counter that thought either verbally or in my head (usually verbally for me), "God supplies all my needs, and if I need that bike, He will provide the way to get it, end of story." I may have to say that several times...in fact many times. You may say "well I sound silly for saying it many times," well that tempting thought sure doesn't stop at the first thought, it jumps on you over and over, so you have to counter it over and over.

Take Away: don't let tempting thoughts run wild, counter them with Gods word and keep at it.